Английская Википедия:Grand Mosque of Urfa
The 12th-century Grand Mosque of Urfa is a congregational mosque in Urfa, Turkey. It was probably built on the site of an earlier Christian church, in this case possibly one dedicated to St. Stephen.[1]Шаблон:Rp The exact circumstances of the mosque's foundation are unknown — it may represent an expansion of an earlier mosque. Two mosques older than the Grand Mosque are attested in historical documents. One is the one built shortly after the Muslim conquest, and the other is the one built by Muhammad ibn Tahir in 825 in front of the Melkite cathedral. The locations of these mosques, and by extension the cathedral, are unknown.[2]Шаблон:Rp or it may have been a new mosque foundation.[2]Шаблон:Rp The courtyard's west and east walls contain some ancient masonry.[1]Шаблон:Rp Several arches on the north wall were either part of an arcade in the old church or part of an associated building.[1]Шаблон:Rp The Grand Mosque is located on Divan Caddesi.[3]
The courtyard itself is unusually elongated north-south.[1]Шаблон:Rp The main prayer hall is on the south side of the complex, while the minaret is at the northeast corner.[1]Шаблон:Rp A medrese is in the southeast corner, unusually projecting outward.[1]Шаблон:Rp The courtyard itself is slightly elevated and has two cemetery areas, both shaded by cypress trees.[1]Шаблон:Rp
The main prayer hall was probably built sometime after Nur ad-Din Zengi captured the city in 1146.[1]Шаблон:Rp It was later renovated in 1779.[1]Шаблон:Rp The interior consists of three long east-west aisles separated by low, thick columns.[1]Шаблон:Rp Each aisle has cross-vaulted ceilings.[1]Шаблон:Rp The mihrab and the dome above it are slightly off-center.[1]Шаблон:Rp The whole north face of the structure is fronted by a portico, which is possibly a later addition to the structure.[1]Шаблон:Rp Its ceiling is also cross-vaulted; the supporting columns are irregularly spaced.[1]Шаблон:Rp
The current medrese was built in the late 1700s on the site of an older one.[1]Шаблон:Rp The fountain at its southeast corner now contains an inscription commemorating the old medrese's construction in 1191, when the Ayyubids were ruling Urfa.[1]Шаблон:Rp Its construction was begun one Umar ibn Shahan ibn Ayyub, who may have been Saladin's cousin.[1]Шаблон:Rp Construction was finished under Umar's son Muhammad.[1]Шаблон:Rp This inscription used to be on the medrese's north wall, but was apparently moved to the fountain sometime after 1930.[1]Шаблон:Rp
The current medrese has its own mini-courtyard and consists of four rooms on the courtyard's south side plus a two-story building on the west side.[1]Шаблон:Rp This whole complex is now used as a school.[1]Шаблон:Rp
The minaret, like the main prayer hall, was probably built in the mid-12th century.[1]Шаблон:Rp It is a tall eight-sided tower with large windows on each side of the top floor, giving a commanding view of the city.[1]Шаблон:Rp These windows start at floor level and are partly walled up to protect the muezzin or others from falling.[1]Шаблон:Rp Other windows, much smaller and narrower, are arranged in vertical rows on the north, west, south, and east faces.[1]Шаблон:Rp The top floor is reached by a circular staircase.[1]Шаблон:Rp The minaret's roof was originally flat, but there is now a cube-shaped addition on top, crowned by a lead cupola and with a clock on each side.[1]Шаблон:Rp
An archaeological excavation in 1979 discovered a corridor underneath the Grand Mosque's prayer hall, beginning at its south face and extending north for about 6 or 7 meters before hitting a wall.[4]Шаблон:Rp The excavators hypothesized that this corridor would have then split into two parts and connected either to the old church's cellar or to underground catacombs.[4]Шаблон:Rp
See also
References
Шаблон:Coord Шаблон:Commons category
